China Premier invokes Isaac Newton in calling for revamp of ‘rigid’ Chinese research to fight US tech war

Scientists in China to be given ‘more freedom to explore without fear’, if ‘rigid’ China is to compete with West on technology, says Premier Li Keqiang

Li spoke at seminar hosted by Chinese science fund, also attended by Vice-Premier and chief trade negotiator Liu He

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An employee works on the production line of a smart electricity meter manufacturing plant in Nantong in eastern China's Jiangsu province. Photo: AP

Published: 8:30pm, 4 Sep 2019Updated: 8:30pm, 4 Sep 2019

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has pledged greater support for basic scientific research to ensure China’s technological development will not become “choked”, as the country battles the United States for dominance in future hi-tech industries.

Speaking at a seminar in Beijing, Li invoked the spirit of Sir Isaac Newton in calling for scientists in China to be given “more freedom to explore without fear”, as a means of improving how China manages and evaluates scientific research.

His comments come as China seeks to bolster domestic development after the US banned exports of certain hi-tech components to telecommunications giant Huawei. Without necessary core technologies from the West, China would find it more difficult to climb the industrial value chain, a phenomenon Chinese media and government officials describe as “having its hands around China’s neck”.

“Whether China’s fundamental research is solid directly affects the future of China’s scientific and technology innovation,” Li said, encouraging various levels of Chinese government to enhance their long-term support for basic research and business entities to spend more on basic research.

Vice-premier Liu He, China’s top trade negotiator with the US, also attended the seminar, in which Li noted that China’s approach to fundamental research is “rigid” compared to developed countries.

“Innovative breakthroughs cannot be planned. For example, [Sir Isaac] Newton sat under an apple tree and then he discovered the law of gravity in a flash of inspiration,” Li said, also citing the work of Chinese mathematician, Chen Jingrun, whose work in the 1970s helped advance the unsolved Goldbach’s Conjecture mathematical problem.

“But this kind of flash does not happen suddenly, it is the result of an accumulation of knowledge. Scientific research has its own ways. We must respect the ways of science and respect scientists. Do not always think about using administrative means to plan for them, but rather set up a good environment, give them more freedom to explore without fear,” he added, saying that government funding will tolerate failure in science research and encourage scientists to explore new ideas.